If a Nonprofit Opens Its Doors and Nobody Walks In, Does It Make a Sound?
For nonprofits that open their doors to the public and count on ticket purchases for a chunk of their revenue, there’s the finest of lines between savvy marketing and selling out. Last week the Philadelphia Inquirer presented a fascinating case study, writing about the efforts of the city’s venerable Franklin Institute, one of the country’s oldest science museums, to recast itself while remaining true to its mission. Trying to get more bodies through the turnstiles, the Institute has been presenting such high-profile shows as the new U2 3-D Imax film and an exhibit about Star Wars.
What does any of this have to do with science? Very little. But everyone seems to be having a very good time.
It would be hard to ignore the fact that the Franklin Institute still is all about science, though in theory anyone lured by special shows on Star Wars, King Tut, pirates or the Titanic could completely miss nearby displays about polarization of light or the route blood takes through the heart and lungs.
But Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute Science Museum - whose roots go back to the 1824 formation of the first U.S. organization for mechanical engineers and professional draftsmen - is morphing in ways so profound that it has even changed its name.
No more Museum, Institute, or even Science. Now it’s just The Franklin (at least while they try on the name for the next year).
The target audience is changing, too. "Body Worlds," a traveling show that brought visitors face-to-face with preserved cadavers, was one in a series of exhibitions aimed at expanding the museum’s traditional draw.
To be fair, the Inquirer presented no dissenting views of the Franklin’s evolving tactics, and even noted that "[i]n pure science, the museum has maintained and even strengthened programs." (Full disclosure: Last year I did a freelance PR project for the Institute.) And having hidden small pieces of broccoli in my toddler’s penne and marinara, I know that sometimes you have to disguise the healthy stuff among the more crowd-pleasing fare. I’d just hate to see this unique institution turn into a pop-culture palace that happens to house some science, when in reality its storied history, steeped in the very opposite of what I fear may happen, has turned on so many Philadelphia children — and their moms and dads — to the wonders of our world. | 501(c)
Tags: Franklin Institute, Star Wars, U2 3D, Body Worlds, science museums
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Education, Mission, Pop culture, Science
0 opinions for If a Nonprofit Opens Its Doors and Nobody Walks In, Does It Make a Sound?
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: